Waiting to Die
by OzVeSSaLiuS
Summary: A group of people who witness the apocalypse first hand but don't live long enough to tell the story  rated M for language and gore please rate and review!
1. CH1: The Infection Begins

**Hi everyone, I had to delete my old one cause there were some MAJOR design flaws. I promise the next one will be much longer :3 so it will prolly take longer to put out. Please rate/review!  
**

Vasch's head buzzed as he sat in a crowded McDonalds waiting for the cashier to call his name so he could get his grease-ball burger. _More cholesterol to clog my arteries, _he thought. Vasch was in his late thirties, was pre-maturely balding and was much thinner than could be considered healthy, no matter how much fast food he ate.

The greasy teenager behind the counter called his name and mispronounced it in the process like everyone did. "Vas-ch…?" He called tentatively, smiling apologetically at Vasch as he approached the counter, a grimace clouding his features.

"Nice try," he grumbled. He took his dripping food back to the dingy table and slowly ate. _Is that… mold? _He thought to himself, pulling back from his food and scowling at the tasteless meat. Instead of the usual dark brown, the middle of the burger was bright red with flecks of black in it. Vasch raised an eyebrow, tossed his food and left the restaurant without a backward glance.

As he walked home, Vasch's stomach turned and shoved the half eaten McDonalds out of his throat and onto the pavement of Main Street. "Fucking gross," he muttered, not even thinking about the tainted burger. He continued toward his tiny one room apartment so that he could shake off the stomach virus that he knew he would eventually get if he continued to eat fast food every day.

Chills ran up his spine as he crawled into bed, and a cold sweat broke on his forehead. "Doctor tomorrow, I guess." He smiled to himself and fell into a fitful sleep as the bacteria from the contaminated food ravaged his system.

* * *

The brisk morning air nipped at the skin of Vivian Taylor as she stepped out of her four story apartment building. She held her coat closed at the top where the zipper ended, and bravely walked the three blocks necessary to get to the bus station.

Before she was halfway there, she met another person who seemed to be heading to the same station. Vivian smiled at the stranger and continued on her way.

Vasch smiled back at the girl who was headed to the same bus station as he was. He was surprised at how much effort a simple smile took. When he had woken up that morning, two things had gone extremely wrong. First, it was at six in the morning, and Vasch was a firm believer that nobody should even be thinking about getting up until after ten. Second, his stomach had tied itself in knots, forcing Vasch to run to the bathroom and heave until at least seven thirty. He was slightly more upset about waking up at six.

As the two of them sat on the bench waiting for the bus to arrive, Vasch's stomach heaved again, and he leaned over and hurled onto the sidewalk, much to the disgust of Vivian.

"Dude what the hell is your problem!" she screamed, jumping away from the pile of vomit. With a closer look, the puke caught both Vasch's and Vivian's attention. It was a bloody crimson with no solid particles in it.

Vasch coughed. "Going to the doctor today may be the best idea I've ever had," he chuckled. Vivian stared at him incredulously as he laughed at the puddle of blood.

When the bus pulled up to the sidewalk, both people stepped on without another word to one another for fear of making their disgusting encounter awkward- which proved pointless because there is nothing more awkward than barfing at a bus station that has other people at it, and then laughing at the resulting puddle of gore- and sat as far apart as possible.

The bus pulled up to the hospital and both Vasch and Vivian stepped out, carefully avoiding eye contact as Vivian quickstepped into the sliding doors and Vasch limped behind her. Once inside, Vivian heard a thud as something hit the ground right behind her. She swung around to see Vasch slumped on the floor, shaking violently and choking on globs of blood.

"Somebody help!" Vivian screamed at the nurses who just stood and stared. "Help him he's dying!"

The bystanders snapped into focus and rushed in a crash cart for Vasch. As they got him lifted on and secured, his trembling faded and the coughing stopped. After a painful five seconds of stillness, Vasch's breathing became quick and labored again, and he began to struggle against his bonds, growling and snarling like a wild animal. One of the bands around his arm snapped and he pulled himself free of the crash cart. Once he was on the floor, he crouched slightly with his hands bent into awkward claws.

"What the fuck is going on?" asked a doctor who had been passing through the lobby, breaking the heavy silence. Vasch's head swung in his direction, and he stumbled toward the frightened doctor in a seemingly drunken stupor. He squinted at the doctor, screamed, and tackled him full force.

* * *

Vasch's eyesight had gone red and his headache felt like someone had shoved a branding iron into his skull. As he lifted his head and saw the doctor standing in front of him, he felt his skin get hot and his hands shake with anger. _This fucking idiot is just standing there, _he thought, taking a few shaky steps toward him. _He could be helping me but he's not… he needs to die._

He slammed into the doctor sending both men into the ground. The stunned man just stared up at Vasch as he slammed his bloody fist into the doctor's jaw. The only sound in the room was a sickening pop followed by a gargled scream from the injured man. "Get him off me NOW!" he yelled at the nurses as Vasch continued to throw bone crushing punches. A blonde nurse put her hand on Vasch's shoulder to pull him off, and he responded by turning around and biting into her thumb and forefinger.

"Ouch shit," she yelped, and backed away. A male nurse who was standing behind the counter rushed to the fire kit, crushed the glass and grabbed the emergency axe. He took a few cautions steps toward Vasch and brought the axe down onto his back. Vasch went limp and fell away from the doctor, who was dead.

Nobody in the lobby moved until Vivian drew her cell phone from her pocket and dialed 911, and explained the situation to the receptionist on the other line. When the police showed up, only a couple of them came inside the hospital and they wore gas masks. They didn't say anything to anyone, or touch anything. They simply looked at the bodies and at the other people who had blood on them, took a few notes and left.

Vivian's mind whirled- she knew that whoever that guy was, he had to be really sick, and that she might be sick. Shaken, she turned away from the carnage and walked out the lobby doors only to be met by two men in haz-mat suits and a blonde man wearing a white lab coat.

"We can't let you leave," the man in the lab coat stated matter-of-factly. "These two fine gentlemen will be in shortly to clean up the mess, and until further notice you are all expected to stay within this building. Any questions?"

Vivian glared at his smug expression and stomped back into the hospital. The man in white and the haz-mat's followed. "My name is Ludwig," lab coat said to no one in particular. "These two bodies are biohazards and anyone with any body fluids on them is to come with me immediately, no questions asked. Understood? Okay good," he walked down a hallway to the right of the entrance without waiting for a response. Three or four nurses followed, and so did Vivian.

Ludwig turned sharply and glared at Vivian. "If you wish to come and you are not contaminated, you are required to wear a mask." He tossed her a white paper mask, put one on himself and continued to strut down the hallway without looking back at the bloody scene in the lobby.


	2. CH2: Operation Quarantine

**Operation Quarantine**

Vivian was forced to sit outside of the room where Ludwig was questioning the supposedly 'infected' individuals. As she sat in the waiting room, the two men that had been ordered to clean up the mess joined her and stood across the hallway from the door. Neither of them looked at her as they waited for Ludwig to exit the room.

"… And unfortunately, you cannot be allowed among uncontaminated individuals. I have been ordered to send you into quarantine. Your life is not guaranteed." Ludwig finished as he and the orderlies exited the room. One of the nurses burst into tears.

"Why would you do this to us!" she wailed. "We're covered in blood all day! Why is this any different?"

"Shut up you stupid bitch!" Ludwig hissed at the hysterical nurse. He pinched the bridge of his nose and regained his composure. "I mean that what you are now sick with can make other people sick. You could kill people because of this. You are dangerous, and therefore must be quarantined."

The haz-mat men handcuffed the infected nurses and led them further down the hallway. They remained silent with the exception of the one that had broken down. Ludwig turned away from them and gave Vivian a sharp glare.

"Well what do you want to know?" Ludwig asked her curtly.

She fumbled for an answer. "I want to know what the fuck is going on! This sickness you keep talking about is freaking me the fuck out! I'm here to get a flu shot, not to be fucking quarantined!" Vivian huffed as she contained her anger.

Ludwig's scowl widened into a smile and he sat down on the chair "Well if you want, I could always run a couple of tests to see if you can be infected at all,"

Vivian's confusion clouded her mind. _What the hell is that supposed to mean?_ She thought angrily. "What does that mean," She asked without an inflection, her face a smooth mask concealing her frustration.

"It means that like any virus, there are always people who are naturally immune. Unfortunately for your friend back there, he wasn't one of them."

Vivian took a moment to look at Ludwig. His broad white smile didn't match the seriousness of his words, and his clear blue eyes showed nothing but unfaltering confidence. She didn't trust him.

Ludwig's scowl returned when the haz-mats returned. The taller of the two stepped forward; his close cut brown hair made his face look sharp and menacing. "We secured the area, but there's one of them that you need to see. She's getting sicker by the minute…"

"And she might be a perfect candidate for the vaccine. If we could stop her at approximately halfway… imagine the research possibilities with a controllable infected!" the other man continued. He was smaller and less intimidating than the first man, with longer hair and a softer face. His chocolate eyes lit up with excitement at the biological possibility.

"Well let's get to it then," Ludwig resolved as he stood and headed down the hallway. He stopped himself mid stride and turned to face Vivian. "Coming? I'm sure you'll love to meet the half breed, plus I can run those tests."

Vivian's mind faltered. She pictured someone similar to what that man had been like; angry, sick and violent. That wasn't something that she wanted to experience again, but she did want to know if she could go home. "I guess I'll come," she muttered nervously. Ludwig turned away from her continued down the hall.

Lisa's head was searing as her brain swelled, and the bite on her fingers slowly turned black. She looked nervously at the too clean room, resenting the too calm people around her. Other nurses, who probably had to suffer the same fate as her, were just sitting there numbly, staring at nothing. Her hand shook as she brought it up to her face, and she sucked in a sharp painful breath when the cold reality hit her. She was going to die, and it was going to happen soon. Her symptoms screamed _rabies_ loudly in her brain, but she couldn't come to terms with it. _This isn't how this works,_ she thought sharply, trying to buy herself a few more minutes, just enough to get help. _Humans don't see red. Humans don't get aggressive; maybe irritable, display seizures and paralysis but not this kind of hate. _

Soft footsteps approaching the quarantine room caught Lisa's attention. _I shouldn't be able to hear that,_ she thought absently. Her eyes narrowed at the blonde doctor and the haz-mat brutes as they entered. These were the people who sealed her fate. Instead of getting her help, they locked her up and waited for her to succumb to this. She seethed with hate.

"Guess what?" asked Blondie, his blue eyes shining with excitement. "You probably won't die! We have a vaccine that could freeze you in the state you're in so that you don't get any worse," he smiled smugly. Lisa wanted to break his perfect teeth.

"So you're not going to make me any better? You're not going to get rid of this agony?" she whispered, cradling her head in her infected hand. "I deserve an explanation!"

Ludwig chuckled. "The headache should go away I think… can you explain other symptoms to me?"

"The uncomfortable hearing, the light sensitivity, seeing red, the _anger_? Is that what you wanted to hear from me?"

Surprise flitted across Ludwig's face and he pulled out a handheld tape recorder. "Patient seems to be displaying classic animalistic symptoms of rabies. Patient still has full cognitive ability." He mumbled into the microphone

Lisa's agonized scream made everyone in the room jump. "Will you give me that fucking shot so that this pain will go away!"

"Yes of course, just no more screaming please," Ludwig growled. He drew a capped needle from his pocket, removed the cover, and stuck it into the inside of Lisa's elbow. She winced at the poke but immediately relaxed as the flaming headache dulled into smoldering coals.

Lisa leaned her head back and smiled. "Oh this is nice…" she mumbled, pulling her sharp fingernails through her blonde hair. Her subtle smile turned into a grin and her eyes snapped open. The haz-mats took a cautionary step toward her, sensing the sudden change of emotional climate. "This though," she flexed her arms. "I could get used to."

Ludwig's smug smile turned to a concerned grimace. "What?"

A small giggle escaped Lisa's lips and she placed her hand on a small table in the middle of the room. She met the eyes of everyone there as if to make sure that they were watching, and she dug her fingernails into the wood. Her face showed no sign of stress as she crushed the wood into a fine dust.

Ludwig's hand dropped back to his pocket and he withdrew the tape recorder again. "Protein production increased, patient shows more efficient muscle mass,"

"You can't call someone a patient if you're not helping them," Lisa hissed. Lisa jerked up from her chair and grabbed Ludwig's shoulder to get his attention. The bigger of the two haz-mats pulled a gun from his belt and held it to Lisa's head.

A feral snarl erupted from Lisa's throat, and she leapt at the larger haz-mat, digging her fingernails into his cheek. He grunted, shoved the gun into her shoulder and pulled the trigger.


End file.
